Golf club



y 2, 1962 M. w. COGLIANESE 3,035,839

GOLF CLUB Filed NOV. 2, 1960 INVENTOR.

flackae 6 [ll Q ZmJwse United States Patent Gfifice 3,035,839 GOLF CLUB Michael W. Coglianese, 2341 W. 111th Place,

cago, 111. Filed Nov. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 66,788 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-164) The present invention relates to a novel golf club.

As is well known, many different situations arise in the game of golf which make it desirable to use clubs having striking faces of different pitches and which further make it desirable for the player to assume different stances. For example, in a situation calling for a relatively short putt, many players prefer to use a club or putter having a substantially perpendicular striking face and in addition many players prefer to use a stance which places them substantially directly over the ball. On the other hand, for longer shots which, for example, might be long putts or chip shots, it is frequently desirable to use a club having a more substantial pitch to its striking face and it may also be desirable for a player to assume a stance located substantially away from the side of the ball rather than more or less directly over the ball as in a putting stance.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel golf club constructed so that it may be more easily selectively positioned for changing the efiective pitch of its striking face and/or to enable a player to change his stance whereby the club is readily usable for a wider variety of golf shots.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel golf club of the above described type which is adapted to be used for short putts and also to be used for long putts and chip shots, and the like.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a novel golf club incorporating features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing the golf club of the present invention in a position in which it is to be held by a player intending to make a relatively long putt, chip shot, or the like;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but shows the club in a position in which it is to be held by a player intending to make a relatively short putt;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the club head in the position shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the club head.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings wherein like parts are designated by the same numerals throughout the various figures, a club 10 incorporating features of the present invention comprises a head member 12 and a shaft 14. The head member is provided with a generally upstanding socket portion 16 which receives and is connected to the shaft 14 in a known manner, and this connection need not be described in detail. In addition the shaft 14 is of usual construction and is provided with handle means, not shown, at its upper end, also of any desired construction. Therefore, the shaft and the handle means need not be further described here- 'Ihe head member 12 is formed from metal such as aluminum but it is to be understood that the head member may also be formed from any other desired material. The head member is provided with a substantially fiat, generally upstanding front or striking face 18 which is elongated in a direction extending generally parallel to an imaginary plane containing the longitudinal axis of the shaft 14 and also the longitudinal axis of the head member. In accordance with an important feature of the present invention the head member 12 is provided with a second or rear sole surface 20 traversing one end thereof, and a first sole surface 22 traversing an outer end portion thereof. Both of these sole surfaces intersect the striking face 18 and both of the sole surfaces are preferably substantially flat so as to facilitate proper positioning of the club for a desired golf shot when the .club is selectively held by a player with one or the other of the sole surfaces on or parallel to the ground.

It is important to note, as shown best in FIGS. 3 and 5, that the sole surface 20 intersects the striking face 18 at the first acute angle, while the sole surface 22 intersects the striking face at a second and larger acute angle which, if desired, may be substantially a right angle. As a result, when the club is positioned as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with the sole surface 20 resting on the ground, the striking face 18 is provided with a substantial amount of pitch which will provide sulficient lift to a ball for minimizing the effects of high grass and irregularities in the turf or green during the first portion of the travel of the ball. Thus, when the club is held in a position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is especially suitable for use in making relatively long putts, chip shots, and the like.

When the club is held in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the effective pitch of the striking face 18 is substantially reduced, and, if desired, the club may be formed so that the pitch is completely eliminated. Thus, the club is especially suitable for use in making relatively short putts when it is held in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

It is also important to note that the sole surfaces 20 and 22 are disposed at an angle to each other so that the surface 28 will extend upwardly at a relatively small acute angle with respect to the horizontal from its intersection with the surface 22 when the surface 22 is horizontally disposed or resting on the ground as shown in FIG. 4. It should also be observed that the surface 20 will extend upwardly and rearwardly from its intersection with the striking face when the surface 22 is resting on the ground as a result of the differences in the angles with which the surfaces 20 and 22 intersect the striking face. Furthermore, these surfaces are disposed at different angles taken in the above mentioned plane with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 14. The angle between the sole surface 20 and the axis of the shaft is a relatively small acute angle as compared with the corresponding angle between a projection of the sole surface 22 and the shaft. Thus, when the club is positioned on the sole surface 20, as shown in FIG. 2, the shaft is inclined rearwardly a relatively great amount from a predetermined side of a plane intersecting both the socket portion 16 and the striking face. This inclination of the shaft further facilities the use of the club member for making relatively long putts, chip shots, and the like, when the club is positioned as shown in FIG. 2 since the player may stand back from the ball and assume an approach stance which permits a broader view of the green and the path that the ball must take. In connection with this use of the club, it is further to be noted that the portion of the club head traversed .by the sole surface 20 is relatively thick and, therefore, relatively heavy. This concentration of the weight of the club head toward its inner end further aids the player in making the relatively long shots.

As shown in FIG. 4, the angular relationship between the shaft and the sole surface 22 causes the shaft to assume a relatively upright position at the same aforementioned predetermined side of the plane which intersects both the socket portion 16 and the striking face Patented May 22, 1962' aosasse when the club is held so that the sole surface 22 rests on the ground. This position of the shaft further facilitates the use of the club for making short putts, when the club is held as shown in FIG. 3, since it enables the player to assume a putting stance over the hall. As shown in the drawings, the outer end portion of the club head is relatively thin and, therefore, light in weight so as to improve the feel of the club when it is being used for making the short shots.

Means 24 is provided on the upper surface of the club head for facilitating proper positioning of the club head with respect to the ball. In the embodiment shown, this means is provided by a groove, which, if desired, may be painted a contrasting color for better visibility. The groove indicates the portion of the striking face which preferably should strike the ball both when the club is held as shown in FIG. 2 and as shown in FIG. 4.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that many structural details may be changed Without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

1. In a golf club, an elongated head including a striking face along one longitudinally extending side thereof and bottom sole surface means, said sole surface means comprising a first substantially horizontal section for resting on the ground and intersecting said striking face at a first angle and a second section intersecting said striking face at a second and difierent angle, said second sole surface means section, when said first sole section rests on the ground, also intersecting said first sole surface means section and extending upwardly at a small angle with respect to the horizontal from its intersection with said first sole surface means section and also upwardly and rearwardly from its intersection with the striking face for enabling a player selectively to change the effective pitch of said striking face with respect to the ground by moving the head to position said second sole surface means section rather than said first sole surface means section substantially on the ground, and means on said head for permanently and nonadjustably securing a shaft thereto at a first angle to said first sole surface means section and at a smaller angle to said second sole surface means section so that the shaft will be located at the same side of a vertical plane substantially intersecting said securing means and said striking face when either of said sole surface means sections is disposed substantially on the ground.

2. A golf club head, as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second sole surface means sections intersect each other adjacent a mid-portion of said striking face.

3. A golf club head, as defined in claim 1, which includes upwardly exposed means on said head for indicating an area of said striking face preferably to be used for striking a ball.

4. A golf club head, as defined in claim 1, wherein said head has a major portion of its mass and weight concentrated in a part thereof traversed by said second sole surface means section.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 13,307 Great Britain Apr. 20, 1905 

